With two races remaining in the 1996 Formula 1 season Damon Hill led the points standings, but it was still possible for his Williams team-mate Jacques Villeneuve to snatch the title. It was imperative for the French-Canadian that he won the next race, the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril.
Villeneuve Keeps Hopes Alive with Portuguese Grand Prix Win
The Portuguese Grand Prix came down to a straight fight between title protagonists Hill and Villeneuve. Hill started from pole and, for once, mad a clean start. Villeneuve, having qualified second, was slow away and found himself behind Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari. On a fast right hander he had the audacity to drive a round the outside of Schumacher, a move which his Williams team thought was impossible.
Once clear of Schumacher the next target was Jean Alesi’s Benetton. Villeneuve passed the Frenchman at the pit stops and set off after the leader, Hill. After the final round of pit stops Villeneuve emerged in the lead, and maintained it to the chequered flag. Hill minimised the damage to his points lead by finishing second, but it meant the World Championship would be decided at the final race of the year in Japan.
Schumacher finished third at Estoril, with Alesi fourth in his Benetton. Despite colliding with each other on the last lap both Eddie Irvine and Gerhard Berger made it to the finish. Irvine was fifth and Berger sixth.
Hill Wins Formula 1 World Championship at Suzuka
In Japan Hill was beaten to pole position by Villeneuve, but come race day it didn’t matter. Villeneuve made a terrible start, while Hill led the race from Berger. The Austrian challenged for the lead, but only emerged with a damaged nosecone which necessitated a pit stop.
The World Championship was decided before the end of the race. In his 1997 book, “Villeneuve, Winning in Style”, written with Gerald Donaldson and published by Collins Willow, the French-Canadian describes the moment his title dream ended;
“Suddenly, in the middle of Suzuka’s first corner, the left front wheel rose up in the air, which suggested something was seriously wrong… This theory was confirmed when the right rear wheel overtook me at about 250 kilometres per hour!”
Villeneuve’s retirement confirmed Hill as the 1996 Formula 1 World Champion, a title his late father Graham had won twice during the 1960s. He was informed on his radio but kept his concentration to win the Grand Prix, while Schumacher finished second. Mika Hakkinen was third in his McLaren, Berger fourth, Brundle fifth and Heinz-Harald Frentzen sixth for Sauber.
Frentzen had been signed to replace Hill at Williams for the 1997 Formula 1 season, a fact which the newly crowned champion was aware of well before Suzuka. Instead of having the opportunity to defend his crown, Hill would be relegated to driving an Arrows in the midfield.
